Chapter 192

Gallahad, who dodged my fist, shouted in an annoyed voice.

“What the hell are you, a sorcerer, doing engaging in close combat?!”

I knew that if I kept flinging spells from a distance, it would just turn into a war of attrition, so I had to close the gap, even if it was reckless. Of course, I had to be cautious of Agravain’s swinging arm until the very end. If that thing hit me even once, it would be game over.

Of course, I was borrowing Tristan’s techniques with Armadura’s power, literally responding with iron fists. But no matter how much I pounded on Agravain, he didn’t even get a scratch. Moreover, whenever I tried to unleash a bigger move, that brat Gallahad would shout out specific coordinates and give instructions, making him dodge it.

“Grrrr…!!!”

I started to doubt if I could even deal damage in this fight. The more I hit him, the more my magic melted away, and the more he got hit, the more energetic he became. Is this guy really a masochist or something?

“Agravain! 12 63 44 02! Bite!”

What kind of bastard uses biting and clawing as their main fighting style? Getting excited while being treated like a dog by that brat Gallahad, he’s really a useless perverted masochist.

And this situation was the same for everyone else. Camelian Peony was also trying to cut down Gallahad separately, but she couldn’t avoid struggling against Agravain’s beast-like movements, which dodged every instruction.

“His movements are like a wild beast. Just who is that guy?”

Even Camelian Peony, who had faced countless strong opponents, asked a question mid-fight, as if she had never seen someone like him before.

“He’s my partner who filled in for my older sister while she was gone.”

Filled in for a while…?

“Big sis, did you wrap yourself in bandages all over and carry your younger sister around when you were little…?”

“That’s impossible!”

Well, if it’s not true, why are you getting so angry? Getting mad at innocent people must be the fate of an elf.

“…Are you two doing a comedy routine or something?”

“No, forget about that for now… What the hell is that movement? Dodging at the very last moment after shouting instructions… That shouldn’t be possible.”

“Of course it is. Right now, I’m using the energy I should be using for my legs to listen and see… Agravain is using the nerves and energy he should be using to listen and see for his movements.”

What the hell, can you even distribute skill points between vision, hearing, and movement like that?

“Hehe, it seems the Archmage of your clan doesn’t understand? Well, it’s not unreasonable. But let me explain it like this: when you taste or smell something with your eyes closed, you feel it more sensitively. It’s similar to how the sense of touch becomes more acute for those who have lost their sight.”

“So when you two are together, you’re solely responsible for detecting movements or deflecting minor movements, and that bandaged pervert brat is in charge of attacking and dodging, right?”

This reminds me of the story of the cripple and the blind man I read in a book a long time ago. Since they were both in a tough spot, the blind man acted as the legs, and the cripple acted as the eyes. Come to think of it, how did that story end…?

“I think I roughly know how to kill you guys.”

“What…?”

“O spear that even kills gods, appear.”

It was a spear created using the Spirit King’s magic. Its strength was incomparable to ordinary steel. Gripping the spear, I tried to stab Gallahad’s eye as if I were slamming it down.

“Agravain, 33 47 22 04. Dodge.”

The bastard twisted his body like a ghost to ensure Gallahad wasn’t impaled by the spear.

“Thanks, brat.”

The ending of the story of the cripple and the blind man was like this: the cripple stole the blind man’s food, so the blind man grew thinner while the cripple grew fatter. Eventually, while crossing a ditch, the weakened blind man fell, and both of them drowned.

Not that I was going to shove food into Agravain’s mouth right now. It’s just that relying on one pair of legs between the two of them is the problem. No matter how good the legs are, if they get injured, they can’t move properly.

I pretended to stab Gallahad and instead stabbed his thigh.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!”

Agravain’s groans sounded like some kind of beast. Camelian Peony’s younger sister must really be into beast-like men.

“Ha… You’re resorting to the worst possible move.”

I don’t know what nonsense that is. I’ve sealed their mobility, so the ones in trouble are them, not me. How deep did I stab for there to be so much blood…?

“Guh!”

Not just me, but even Camelian Peony spat out blood.

What’s going on? I tried my best to suppress the poison, and the poison I was hit with earlier shouldn’t have taken effect this quickly.

“You’re smelling Agravain’s blood right now. Our Agravain is pure poison from head to toe. His flesh, bodily fluids, blood, bones, nails, claws, even the breath he exhales—everything is pure poison. Just being near him can kill small animals like rabbits in a minute.”

Ah, so that’s why he didn’t seem anxious at all during close combat.

Damn it, my legs are giving out from the poison.

“Agravain, 33 45 24 01. Grab him and kill him.”

Damn it, if I get caught by that poison-spewing hand, it’s over… My body just won’t move. Am I really going to die like this…?

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Agravain’s menacing hand was just about to grab Werner’s face. Lorcha, Airi, and Camelian Peony all rushed in to stop it, but it was too late. Just as that hand was about to grab Werner’s face and inject poison directly, tree roots sprouted from the ground and repelled Agravain’s hand.

“Grrrrrr…?”

“What the hell, why did tree roots suddenly…?”

And then appeared the Spirit King of Wood, in the form of a young elf girl.

“Insignificant children, spewing poison, scattering lightning, and setting fires in my garden—it’s so ridiculous that I can’t stand it. I was trying to enjoy a nap with some clear water wine I brewed, but with all this noise, I can’t even sleep, and the taste of the wine is ruined.”

Everyone present could feel it. That girl was stronger than anyone else there. Among the Spirit Kings, she who ruled over life itself, the Spirit King of Wood, was the strongest among spirits.

Of course, Agravain and Gallahad, who had come to kill even her, bit their lips.

“Is that the so-called strongest Spirit King of Wood…? Did she come here to stop the fight… to kill us?”

“No, I don’t care whether you came to kill me or protect me.”

At those words, everyone was left speechless. Both the people and beasts who came to kill, and the people who came to protect, couldn’t accept the current situation.

“I just want to drink the wine I brewed today and take a quiet nap. You’re both just noisy, and I came to tell you to take your fight outside the forest…”

Then Gallahad expressed his doubt.

“But why did you stop our Agravain? You wouldn’t care if someone died, right? Wouldn’t it be better for you if people died?”

“Well, if that young one dies in my garden, it would be troublesome. Not that I’d risk my life for something so trivial, but still. Now get out of my forest.”

“…If we were going to listen to such a request, we wouldn’t have come in the first place.”

“Heh… Half-elf girl, it seems you’re misunderstanding something. I’m not making a request right now. Would I make a request to the likes of you? I…”

With those words, the trees in the forest began to grow rapidly. The trees grew two to three times their size, blocking the sun, and massive roots sprouted from the ground.

The forest they were in—no, the vegetation of the entire continent—was like her limbs.

“I was giving you a polite order, you insignificant child. With a single gesture, you could die.”

The Spirit King of Wood, checking the faces of the group, noticed Airi and communicated with her through telepathy.

[Oh, isn’t this the brat who made a contract with me before the primordial mother reversed time? You’ve managed to survive with such pitiful skills. I didn’t even notice you were here because your power is so weak.]

Facing the Spirit King she had contracted with before the regression, Airi urgently asked for her help.

[Pharesa! Help me right now. Make a contract with me again and help me defeat those guys.]

Knowing her true name, Airi believed without a doubt that she would help her.

[Ah, so you’re saying you want to make a contract with me again and borrow my power~ That’s what you’re saying, right?]

[Yes, so quickly make the contract…]

[No, you rude and ignorant brat.]